Bethune's risked life and limb campaigning against Japan's
whalers and that fight has seen him locked up in Tokyo for 20 days
without charge.

"He is in the maximum security prison at the moment which houses
murderers, rapists and people like that...but he is kept pretty
much on his own," says his wife Sharyn Bethune.

"He has three meals a day of cabbage soup and rice and he says
he is very very sick of cabbage."

But it's a diet Bethune may have months or even years to get
used to as Tokyo's Coastguard presses serious charges against the
sailor for boarding the Shonan Maru 2.

Prosecutors will formally indict him for trespass; carrying a
knife (which prosecutors will say was found in his boot); damaging
property (for cutting a guard net to board the vessel) and forcible
obstruction of business despite the activities being for
non-commercial "scientific whaling".

But most serious is the charge of causing injury which comes
with a prison sentence of up to 15 years. The injuring charge
relates to an incident three days before the powerboat
Ady Gil and the whaler collided . Japan's coastguard alleges
Bethune fired a rancid butter stink bomb which injured a
crewman.

"The one that they are trying to get him on is assault is the
one he is definitely sure he did not commit -he did not assault
anyone," says Sharyn.

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And Bethune's father Don says "it's quite clear that they're
trying to make an example out of him to discourage anybody else".
And he says the New Zealand attitude is "somewhat gutless".

Don Bethune thinks his son would stand a better chance in court
if the government had stood by him.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully says maritime officials are
undertaking a thorough investigation and he says he will be very
concerned at any unduly harsh charges laid against Bethune.

McCully says he is uneasy about the reports and the New Zealand
government is yet to receive confirmation of the charges laid by
Japanese authorities. He says Bethune is yet to appear in court and
he's still waiting for confirmation from authorities as to the
nature of the charges he is facing.

McCully says our government is unlikely to interfere in Japan's
legal process.

Bethune's lawyer Dan Harris says it's potentially a very serious
situation and a bad look for Japan. He says he is surprised the
charges have been brought and could put Bethune behind bars for
years.

Harris is calling the situation absurd, saying there is no
foundation to the charges and Bethune will defend them
vigourously.

Harris says he's disappointed with the Japanese government and
it seems like a show, rather than a legitimate criminal trial.
Harris says people should be unhappy with Japan's justice system as
well as its whaling industry.

Meanwhile Bethune's wife is hoping for a speedy trial and
hopefully deportation.